Oishii: Tempura

The Japanese are known for a particularly healthy diet rife with fish, vegetables and rice. But don't let them fool you--they like their deep-fried foods as much as Americans do!

One of the most popular fried foods in Japan is called tempura, or deep-fried vegetables (and sometimes seafood).

Pretty much any vegetable can be made into tempura, but my favorites are shredded carrots, corn kernels, chopped onion and sliced sweet potato. All you have to do is dip the veggies into tempura batter, fry on medium-high heat for a few minutes, drain excess oil and serve with tempura dipping sauce. Recipes for the batter and sauce are below (but if you're lazy like me, just buy them in the Asian foods section of your grocery store). 

Tempura batter

This is the recipe for homemade batter, but you can also find batter starter kits in the Asian food section of your grocery store. 

1 egg

1 cup ice water

1 cup flour

1. Beat egg in a bowl.

2. Add ice water to the bowl. 

3. Add flour to the bowl and mix lightly. Do not overmix. 

Tempura sauce

This is the recipe for homemade sauce, but you can also find ready-made sauce in the Asian food section of your grocery store. 

1 cup dashi stock
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tbsp suger

1. Heat mirin in a pan.
2. Add dashi stock and soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Serve.

Mmmm. So good and so bad...